Mayor Ava Frisinger has declared May as Local History Month in Issaquah.

Issaquah History Museums Executive Director Erica Maniez said the occasion presents a chance for residents to consider the big themes present in the history of small places. Moreover, public recognition of local history helps to foster local pride, maintains community character and builds a deeper sense of appreciation for a place.

In celebration of Local History Month, the Issaquah History Museums joined the Common Grounds coffee stand at Front Street Market to celebrate. Common Grounds is offering six history-themed coffee beverages and free museum passes for all customers during May.

The museums also plan to sell a T-shirt celebrating Issaquah’s past. Learn more about the design at the museums’ website, www.issaquahhistory.org.

Local History Month should mean something

The month will come and go without many residents taking note, but the mayor is right in helping publicize the importance of Issaquah’s history.

We are often amazed at how many people know little of the early days here in Issaquah. Snoqualmie Tribe members were among the early settlers. Farming came to town and brought us the dairy cooperative now known as Darigold. The coal mines brought prosperity and the railroad to Issaquah, and our historic depot reminds of that. Logging was also king as hikers on our mountain trails are aware.

The town began in the Front Street and Sunset Way area, still the heart of the historic downtown. The Issaquah History Museums keeps an office in the original Gilman Town Hall. Out back is an early cement block jail. Pictures and mementos inside tell the story of a town with its mud streets and wooden sidewalks becoming the prosperous center of commerce along the interstate that it is today.